Addiction Commonality

Alcohol, Opiates, Fat and Sugar are all Addictive Substances: this blog is about that "addiction sameness".

Butter Pig Family

* A butter sculpture of a sow and her piglets

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Absinthe

This article gives me the opportunity to highlight this particular poison/herb/ alcoholic drink...


BBC - Travel - Sydney brings absinthe down under : Food & Drink, Sydney






Sydney is home to Australia’s only absinthe bar. (Absinthesalon)

With images of Bohemian poets and artists in mind, friends and I ventured to a bar to experience absinthe, a toxic-looking beverage made with wormwood, fennel and green anise.

The bar is home to 24 green and white absinthes of French or Swiss origin (where the drink was created in the late 18th Century), ranging from mild to strong (45 to 74% alcohol) – perfect for both the absinthe enthusiast and the absinthe curious.

The interior of Absinthesalon seems to have travelled back in time, to a small bar in France during La Belle Epoque period (the late 19th to early 20th Century). Up to 30 guests can be seated at the room's dozen tables, each adorned with crystal glasses that circle the reproduction absinthe water fountain at the centre.

A menu lists the various styles, tastes and alcoholic levels of absinthe, but since it was our first time... they explained the lengthy process. After being served a measure, we smelled. We placed the decorative absinthe spoon on top of the glass, a sugar cube on top of that, and let the fountain drip ice water over it for several minutes. We watched the drink become cloudy as the cold water reacted with the herbal oils -- a process known as "louching" -- then smelled the newly aromatic concoction again and finally, took a sip.

The bar's policy is no more than three pours of absinthe in an evening, but the amount of time it takes to prepare and drink the spirit, along with its high alcohol content, means the limit is rarely an issue.

Source:
Brooke Schoenman is the Sydney Localite for BBC Travel